145x Filetype PDF File size 0.18 MB Source: globalpact.informea.org
This learning material is part of a course in the InforMEA e-learning platform, go to https://elearning.informea.org to take the complete course and obtain your certificate. Book – Principles and concepts of international environmental law (Part 2) Book to Unit 3 – Principles and concepts of international environmental law (Part II) Site: UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION PORTAL ON MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS Course:Introductory course to International Environmental Law Book: Book – Principles and concepts of international environmental law (Part 2) Table of contents 1. Cooperation, and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities Duty to cooperate Common but differentiated responsibilities Examples 2. Precaution Examples Southern Bluefin Tuna Case 3. Prevention Preventive mechanisms Examples 4. “Polluter Pays Principle” Application Examples 5. Access and Benefit Sharing regarding Natural Resources Indigenous and local communities Prior informed consent 6. Common Heritage and Common Concern of Humankind 7. Good Governance 8. Principle of progressive realisation and non-regression National level 1. Cooperation, and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration provides: 1992 Rio Declaration Principle 7 “States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation,States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.” Principle 7 can be divided into two parts: (1) the duty to cooperate in a spirit of global partnership; and (2) common but differentiated responsibilities. Duty to cooperate The duty to cooperate is well-established in international law, as exemplified in articles 55 and 56 of chapter IX of the Charter of the United Nations, to which all UN member states, at present 191, subscribe, and applies on the global, regional and bilateral levels. The goal of the Rio Declaration is, according to the fourth paragraph of its preamble, the establishment of a “...new and equitable global partnership...” The concept of global partnership can be seen as a more recent reformulation of the obligation to cooperate, and is becoming increasingly important. Principle 7 refers to states, but the concept of global partnership may also be extended to non-state entities. International organisations, business entities (including in particular transnational business entities), NGOs and Civil Society more generally should cooperate in and contribute to this global partnership. Polluters, regardless of their legal form, may also have also responsibilities pursuant to the “Polluter–Pays Principle”.
no reviews yet
Please Login to review.